1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food processing systems, and particularly to a waste food recycling machine that produces edible food from food scraps in a device with a relatively small footprint, thereby maximizing available food for consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
Consumable food is a relatively abundant resource. Select countries annually produce enough food that can feed the world several times over. Ironically, many regions still experience potential starvation. This unfortunate condition arises from many factors such as economics, political climate, distribution and terrain. Impoverished countries may lack the infrastructure and finances to keep their residents fed. Some areas of the world may not have the roads to deliver food or arable land for raising foodstuffs.
Additionally, a significant portion of produced food ends up as waste. For example, studies in the United States have shown that about a quarter of the farmed food is discarded. Some may be due to poor quality not suitable for sale, and some may be recycled as feed for livestock and other animals. Still a majority are left as waste.
Food waste also gives rise to additional problems, especially in the more developed areas of the world. In more urban areas, food wastes can account for about 30% of the total garbage disposed in landfills. These food wastes break down in these oxygen-free environments, producing methane. Methane has a warming effect several times greater than carbon dioxide.
Some solutions exist for recycling or reusing food scraps. A common solution is to utilize the food waste as compost, which provides a nutrient rich environment for growing produce. However, that requires a concerted effort from participating communities and support infrastructure for handling collection and processing of the wastes to be effective. Moreover, impoverished regions may not have the capability of growing their own crops, even with the assistance of ready-made compost.
Another solution involves industrial recycling of food scraps. However, these tend to involve relatively large, separate components laid out in separate areas for processing the food scraps. This requires occupation of a relatively large amount of space and high financial investment, which may not be feasible in some regions.
In light of the above, it would be a benefit in the art of food processing systems to provide a machine that integrates components and functions for processing food scraps and wastes into consumable food product with minimal space requirements. Thus, a waste food recycling machine solving the aforementioned problems is desired.